The Only One
by BloodRose98
Summary: Adam and Larry are just trying to find each other after their ordeal in the bathroom. Some language. AxL. Sorry! I'm horrible with summaries. UPDATED.
1. Guilt and Realizations

**DISCLAIMER**: No, I don't own Saw or its characters, even though that would be pretty freaking cool. :) I'm just writing something I thought of while watching. Forgive me if things are a bit off. Anyway, hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

_Prologue_

"LAWRENCE, GET UP! I need you!" Adam hadn't realized how much he meant that when he said it. He hadn't realized how much it would eat at his nerves when he was saved, but there was no sign of the beloved doctor. Adam did not know love was possible that quickly. Until he met Lawrence, Adam really had no idea what love was at all.

1. Guilt and Realizations

Adam tossed and turned in his bed, groaning every once in a while. His sleeping patterns had been fitful ever since the ordeal in the bathroom. The pungent smells of blood, sweat, tears, and fear still lay in his nose, rancid reminders of everything he had been through. Lawrence's screams echoed in his brain. No matter how hard he tried to push them to the back of his mind, he failed. Anxiously, he turned on his side (the one without the injured shoulder), curling up tighter than usual in the thin sheets and blankets.

Guilt followed him like a cloud pouring acid rain. It stung every time any thoughts of the bathroom or Lawrence entered his brain. Both of them came uninvited often. Why should he still be alive, anyway? Adam had no family (none that would recognize or claim him), no friends. The only things he had ever really been devoted to were his smoking and his work. He had no reason to be alive today.

But, maybe he did. That reason had been right in front of him all along in the bathroom. Adam had no explanation for it, but somehow he was drawn to Dr. Lawrence Gordon. The attraction had been almost instant seeing the blonde haired, blue-eyed man shackled across the room from him. His heart beat faster in his chest as he thought of it.

When Lawrence had lost it and began to saw off his own foot, Adam had screamed. He had also wanted to do nothing but comfort the poor doctor in his temporary madness. But he could not, being chained up still. That was until Larry had finished his bloody deed and came crawling over to Adam after he killed Zep. The feeling of Lawrence touching him in comfort, saying everything would be okay made Adam believe it.

Although he hated revisiting the bathroom, Adam often went back to the moments where they were looking into each other's eyes, just before Larry left. Those blue orbs had stood out so brightly from his ashy white skin... Adam sighed heavily, flopping on to his back. All he had seen in them were apologies and sincerity. He stared up at the dirty ceiling above him. It appeared even grimier with the dim yellow lighting coming from the lamp beside the bed.

'Come on, dumb ass. He had a wife and a kid. What makes you think he would leave them for you? What makes you think he was even attracted to you?' Adam frowned. It hurt to think that the one person he had ever actually cared for might not be interested. Still, his eyes had said something different in their brief exchange.

Something inside Adam told him to stop being such an idiot. He needed to stop thinking and get some sleep. Yet sleep was a rare guest in this apartment lately. Good sleep, anyway. Adam rolled on to his side again, clutching the warm blankets around him tightly.

"God, Lawrence," he muttered. "Where are you?"


	2. Alive but Not Well

**Note**: This is shorter than the last chapter. Maybe I'll write something longer than a few words one day. Hehe. .

He squinted, the bright white fluorescent light hurting his eyes and making his head throb violently. Was he still in the bathroom?

"Oh, God," Lawrence rasped, sitting up faster than he wanted to. His head spun. "Adam? ADAM!" Larry looked around, pain shooting through him each time he moved. He disregarded it though. A stupid idea on his part, as the next thing he knew he was falling and hitting cold tile floor.

It was as cold as the tile in the bathroom had been. He remembered the sting of it on his flesh as he awoke, only to be thrust in a waking nightmare.

"Adam," he muttered, oblivious to the hands of nurses lifting him back into bed, or the doctor looking over him anxiously. "Adam..." Larry panted violently. He felt so tired he could barely lift his head, which was laying back on the soft pillows provided for him. Someone was shining a light into his dull blue eyes. They backed off quickly. He could hear people speaking, but he had no idea what they were saying.

Larry coughed as cold liquid was poured into his mouth. It was meant to soothe his dry, scratchy throat, yet all he could do was choke. He gasped, trying to take in air. The feeling of being unable to breathe was overwhelming. He moved his head away, seeing another light coming toward him. The face of his frightened companion in the bathroom swam before him. Guilt overshadowed Larry now, weighing on him, a heavy burden.

He had said he would get help. He had promised the hysterical, scared Adam, and he had failed. He left Adam to die alone in that godforsaken bathroom. What would he be doing now? Sitting, waiting for help that would never come? Holding on to a light of hope that would eventually have to burn out? Larry imagined having to sit there for days on end.

The smells of blood and sweat combined with the stench of decaying flesh enough to induce vomit in even the strongest of people. And what about his shoulder? Lawrence knew the wound was not fatal, but the bathroom could be a poster child for infection with the mess that it was.

He coughed a few more times. Those deep, fearful eyes dancing in his head made his heart clench inexplicably. When Adam had revealed the truth to Larry about what he did, what part he played with his pictures, it had hurt. His chest had clenched then, just like it was doing now.

His face burned with anger and shock. Maybe even humiliation that he had been seen doing things no one should know of. Larry felt tears burn on his cheeks, streaming down his face as he reminisced. He was glad everyone had left him to his thoughts, and that no one could see his tears.

"I'm sorry, Adam," he cried. "I'm so sorry."


	3. The Visit

Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story. You guys are great. :) Sorry this took me so long to get up. Life caught up with me with the end of the school year and everything, but I'm back for now. Enjoy.

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Adam didn't know why he hadn't thought of this sooner. He sat on the edge of his bed, his hand clenched around the phone tightly. He wrapped the cord around his fingers anxiously, waiting. Why wasn't she answering him?

"You said Lawrence Gordon…?" the woman asked on the other line.

"Yes! Lawrence Gordon," Adam parroted crossly. He had waited for this long enough, and now he was being asked to wait _longer_ by this secretary who had no idea what her job was?

"I'm sorry sir. We're pretty busy today." The woman laughed apologetically, sounding sincere. Adam felt a bit guilty for becoming aggravated by her sluggishness. "Ah, here we go." He felt his heart leap in his chest.

"Yeah?"

"He's in room 225."

"Thank you so much," Adam said gratefully, a smile of pure joy coming over his face.

"You're very welcome, sir." Click. Adam dropped the phone back onto the receiver, unwrapping his fingers from the cord that was still strangling them. Hurriedly, he pulled a blue t-shirt on, grabbed his keys, and rushed out his front door. The hospital was only a couple miles away. At the pace he was going, he could reach it in about 15 minutes.

Adam felt a rush of fresh air enter his lungs despite the city's dank atmosphere. The fact that Lawrence was still alive gave him something to look forward to. Relief allowed him to move faster than normal through the streets. He couldn't keep the grin from his face as he raced to the hospital.

'I'm so close,' he thought. 'I'm coming, Larry. Don't worry. I'm coming.'

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Hastening through the front doors of the hospital, Adam glanced around for the elevators. Thankfully, they weren't too hard to find. He stepped over to them and punched the button with the arrow pointing heavenward with a little more energy than he meant to. Adam tried to catch his breath as he waited for a pair of doors to slide open allowing him entry. He looked around the lobby for a bit.

It was like most hospital lobbies, with softer chairs than normal to sit in and plants scattered around in pots. He never understood why they took all these extra measures to make the lobby a restful place. It wasn't like plants or sunlight streaming through large windows over soft chairs made the atmosphere any more comforting. People were dying here, or going through extreme stress and somehow they figured _vegetation_ would make everything more relaxed?

Ding! The elevator sounded. Adam turned as the silver doors to his right opened up. A flood of people came out of the lift, most dressed in jeans and t-shirts, most likely visiting family members. A couple of the occupants were doctors, and there were one or two in business suits. He waited a little impatiently for the elevator to empty out, then rushed into its opening and pressed the button marked with a bold number two. The doors shut too slowly for him.

Faster than he realized, Adam was raised to floor number 2, where he pushed his way out of the doors of the elevator before they were even completely open. The group of people who had been waiting for the lift eyed him with disgruntled stares, but he paid them no attention. He studied the burgundy signs on the walls carrying room numbers instead. One read Rooms 200 – 220 with an arrow pointing to the left in bold white writing. The one underneath it read Rooms 225 – 240 and had an arrow pointing right.

Without a second thought, Adam walked to the right. His eyes immediately caught "225" plastered on the burgundy sign by the door to Lawrence's room. He paced himself as he trudged carefully into the room. He wasn't sure if Larry could handle excitement such as his speed walking quite yet. Adam took a deep breath, and shot a glance toward the bed.

There he was. The doctor lay in the hospital bed covered in a heavy white blanket. The light above his bed made him appear paler than he actually was. Adam felt his heart thudding in his chest as he stared at Lawrence nervously. He hadn't noticed him yet; there was still time to get out…

'NO! I've been waiting for this,' Adam scolded himself sternly. And so, he made himself stay, his thoughts making his feet stick to the tile floor like roots.

"L – Larry…?" Adam stuttered, continuing to stare at the bed's occupant.

"Adam?" Lawrence's voice came out roughly with disbelief. "Is that you?"

"Yes." He bit his lip and forced himself to move closer to Larry. Eventually he was close enough to sink into the chair beside the bed.

"How did you get out?" Lawrence rasped, turning his head to look at Adam. Surprised, Adam could see the beads of tears forming in his blue eyes.

"I had some help," Adam whispered, not wanting to remember the bathroom any longer.

"Adam, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was going to try getting back to the bathroom, but they wouldn't let me. I couldn't… It was so hard trying to get them to listen to me. No one believed me there was actually a man caught in a bathroom. They thought I was hallucinating because of the blood loss. I'm so sorry. I-"

"Shhhh," Adam told him. He reached up and pressed two fingers against Lawrence's lips to quiet his rambling, without considering the consequences. Suddenly he wondered if he should have done it at all. Larry stared at him blankly for a moment. Adam removed his fingers quickly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Sorry man. I just figured you didn't need the stress."

A lame excuse if ever there was one, but he needed a cover, right?

"No. It's alright." Adam raised an eyebrow but made no other moves. There was an awkward silence between the two men for a while afterwards. Adam found himself glimpsing around the room more than once, looking at the walls, ceiling, and the blank screen of the TV across from them. Lawrence just sat with his arms folded, eyes closed in order to try to relax.

"So um… how's it going?"

'Wonderful conversation starter, man. You're doing a _great_ job,' Adam thought, annoyed at himself for his sudden lameness.

"As best as it can be." Adam noticed Larry's quick look down at his foot. He decided not to press the matter for the moment. "What about you?"

"Pretty much the same…" He sighed heavily. "Actually, I'm not sleeping," Adam admitted after a few minutes, sinking further down into the chair.

"Neither am I," Lawrence confessed. Silence. Adam bit his lip again, wondering what to say. How's the wife? How's the daughter? When are you going to get out of here? Everything seemed stupid to ask. Luckily for him, Larry cleared the air. "…Do you ever have nightmares?" he asked quietly.

Surprisingly, the doctor was looking right at him as he asked this seemingly girly question.

"I – uh… well…" Adam sputtered. "Yes." He actually felt comfortable admitting to Lawrence that he had nightmares; unlike he would if he mentioned anything to other people. "I do almost every night, ever since we got out of that damn bathroom. I hear his voice inside my head. I'm paranoid with every move I make because of that prick." Automatically, Adam looked out of the corner of his eye as though someone were listening in to their conversation.

He felt a stab of fear enter his heart, which left just as fleetingly as it had come.

"I do too… Don't worry. We'll deal with it, won't we?" Larry smiled gently, his eyes studying Adam with a careful gaze. It sent shivers over Adam's body so that he had to look away.

"Yeah, we will," Adam agreed, although he didn't see how.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you, Adam," Lawrence said. "Now that I know you're alive it's like…" His voice trailed off and he shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts. Adam stared at Larry, waiting for him to finish his sentence. "They've got to quit giving me so much morphine," he muttered.

"How are um…Alison and Diana?" Adam asked, thinking of no other way to change the subject.

'You have nerve asking him about his wife and daughter…' He sighed letting out some of the awkward feeling stored in his chest.

"They're doing alright. Ally's trying to cope the best way she can, and so is Diana. It's not everyday you have a father come out of the blue with a missing foot." The same smile that Larry had on earlier appeared, but it was sadder than before. Adam felt his throat lock up before he could speak. He wanted to reach out again and smooth back the doctor's hair or give him some sort of comforting touch. But he couldn't, and he knew that.

His chest tightened along with his throat as that thought settled in his core.

"Adam… I have something to ask you. Or, tell you, rather." Thunk – thunk, thunk – thunk. This was Adam's heart in his chest, speeding up again.

"Yes?"

"Attention visitors," a strangely mechanical voice said over the PA system. "Visiting hours are over in five minutes. Please be aware of this."

"As usual, I have horrible timing," Adam said with a grin, trying to cheer Larry up.

"You're not the only one," Lawrence replied, looking away. The tightness in Adam's chest would not go away. He stared at Larry with worry in his eyes. "I guess you'd better go soon, huh?"

"I guess so." Adam shrugged gently despite the fact that Larry wasn't looking at him. He stood quickly and walked up to the bed, pressing himself against the cold metal railing on the side. "I'm glad to see you, too, Larry." He placed a hand on the older man's arm lightly. It was the most he could do. "I'll be back again soon, okay?"

"I'll be waiting." Larry moved his head to look at Adam for a moment. The depth of pain in his eyes startled Adam. He maneuvered himself awkwardly around the railing then in order to give Lawrence a hug. Feeling the doctor's arms curl around his shoulders made him breathe deeply. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring it, despite the smell of medicine, rubbing alcohol and cleaning products surrounding him.

'Okay, that's it. Don't do anything stupid,' he urged himself. Hesitantly, Adam pulled away. He allowed himself one last glance at Larry with a minute smile, before heading out of the room. The doctor's words echoed inside his head as he walked slowly towards the elevators.

"I'll be waiting."


End file.
